Asteroid that hit Botswana in 2018 likely came from Vesta
Friday, 23 April 2021 11:07
An international team of researchers searched for pieces of a small asteroid tracked in space and then observed to impact Botswana on June 2, 2018. Guided by SETI Institute meteor astronomer Peter Jenniskens, they found 23 meteorites deep inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and now have published their findings online in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science.
"Combining the observations of the small asteroid in space with information gleaned from the meteorites shows it likely came from Vesta, second largest asteroid in our solar system and target of NASA's DAWN mission," said Jenniskens.
Mission Alpha in images
Friday, 23 April 2021 09:40
Mission Alpha in images
Image gallery of the Mission Alpha
Mission Alpha launch in images
Friday, 23 April 2021 09:40
Mission Alpha launch in images
Image gallery of the Mission Alpha
SpaceX launches NASA Crew-2 mission
Friday, 23 April 2021 09:02
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — SpaceX launched a Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying four astronauts from three nations April 23 as the commercial crew program moves firmly into operations.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A here at 5:49 a.m.
Mission Alpha liftoff
Friday, 23 April 2021 09:00
Video:
00:04:13
Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft with ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, and Japanese astronaut Aki Hoshide. The Crew-2 spend around 24 hours travelling to the International Space Station. The rocket lifted off at 11:49 on 23 April 2021 from Launchpad 39A in Cape Canaveral at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
Thomas is the first ESA astronaut to fly in space in a vehicle other than the Russian Soyuz or the US Space Shuttle, and the first ESA astronaut to leave Earth from Florida, USA, in
China rolls out Long March 5B rocket for space station launch
Friday, 23 April 2021 08:16
HELSINKI — China is set to launch the first module for its own space station next week after rolling out a Long March 5B rocket at Wenchang spaceport late Thursday.
Astronauts arrive at pad for SpaceX flight on used rocket
Friday, 23 April 2021 07:10
ESA-backed autonomous driving lab set for Italy
Friday, 23 April 2021 07:10
Central Italy – already home to an ambitious national autonomous driving research initiative – will be the site of the ESA-backed P-CARS laboratory, intended to certify positioning devices for use within driverless cars.
SpaceX set for pre-dawn launch to ISS
Friday, 23 April 2021 07:00
SpaceX is set to launch its third crew to the International Space Station an hour before sunrise Friday, recycling a rocket and spacecraft for the first time.
The Crew-2 mission blasts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:49 am Eastern Time (0949 GMT), after being delayed a day by adverse weather along the flight path.
Around 2:30 am (0630 GMT), Thomas Pesquet of France—the first European on a SpaceX mission—along with Americans Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur and Japan's Akihiko Hoshide strode out in their suits to say goodbye to their families.
Earth from Space: Laizhou Bay
Friday, 23 April 2021 07:00
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the sediment-stained waters in Laizhou Bay, located on the southern shores of the Bohai Sea, on the east coast of mainland China.
Lockheed Martin wins $27 million contract modification for integration of DARPA’s Blackjack satellites
Thursday, 22 April 2021 21:37
WASHINGTON — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency increased Lockheed Martin’s contract for satellite integration work for the Blackjack program by $27.3 million, the agency announced April 22.
DARPA a year ago selected Lockheed Martin as the satellite integrator for Blackjack, a project to demonstrate a network of small satellites in low Earth orbit for military communications, missile warning and navigation.
NASA and the new urgency of climate change
Thursday, 22 April 2021 19:14
“Climate change” is changing. There has been a growing push by scientists, environmental advocates and others to refer to the Earth’s changing climate as a “climate crisis” or even “climate emergency” to better reflect the severity of the problem and the urgency to take action to mitigate the worst of its effects.
Space Force selects Boeing, Northrop Grumman to develop jam-resistant communications satellites
Thursday, 22 April 2021 19:09
WASHINGTON — Boeing and Northrop Grumman have been selected to develop jam-resistant communications payloads for the U.S. Space Force’s Protected Tactical Satcom program.
The Space and Missile Systems Center in February 2020 and March 2020 awarded Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman contracts for $191 million, $240 million and $253 million, respectively, to design prototype payloads for the Protected Tactical Satcom program known as PTS.
How a space doctor keeps astronauts healthy on the ISS
Thursday, 22 April 2021 19:05
From muscle loss to radiation exposure and the psychological effects of confinement, spaceflight takes a toll on those lucky enough to experience it.
European Space Agency flight surgeon Adrianos Golemis, who is responsible for the health of astronaut Thomas Pesquet during the SpaceX Crew-2 mission, shared some insights on the field of space medicine.
Q: What are the major health challenges of space?
A: If we talk about low Earth orbit where the ISS lies, you have almost zero gravity so that takes its toll on your bones and your muscles.
Radiation is a major issue, because here on the ground we are protected by the magnetosphere (magnetic field) and by the atmosphere, but if we go beyond, this protection goes away.
And of course we should not forget we have things that we are just beginning to understand: for example eye pathology (disease), or venous thrombosis (blood clots) that some healthy astronauts develop.
SpaceX aims for 3rd crew launch hour before Friday's sunrise
Thursday, 22 April 2021 18:37